Professor Rodrigo Martins got in 1974 the Honours degree in Electronics Engineering, Telecommunications and applied Electronics by U. Luanda, Angola/ PT. In 1977 he got the MSc degree in Semiconductor Materials, by the University of Dundee, Scotland. Thesis title: “Photoconductivity in P Doped and Undoped Amorphous Germanium.” Supervisor W. Spear, 1977 Euro physicist award. In 1982, the Ph.D. in Energy conversion and Semiconductors, by New University of Lisbon, Portugal. Thesis title: “a-Si:H solar cells processing and characterization”. In 1988 he got the Habilitation in Semiconductor Materials and Microelectronics, by New University of Lisbon, Portugal. Lesson title: “Density of states in disordered semiconductors”. Full Professor at FCT-NOVA since 2002 in the area of Materials Engineering, speciality Materials for Energy, Microelectronics and Nanotechnologies.
Today has the following functions:
President of the European Academy of Sciences; past immediate president of the International Union of Materials Research Societies; Member of Scientific Council of the European Research Council. Member of:
• Portuguese Order of Engineers, OE.
• Board of Admission and Qualification of OE.
• Chair of the Scientific technical council of AlmaScience:
Rodrigo Martins is the founder and director of the Centre of Excellence in Microelectronics and Optoelectronics Processes of Uninova; leader of the Materials, Optoelectronics and Nanotechnologies group of I3N/CENIMAT and his sub-director. Editor in Chief of the journal Discover Materials, since 2020. Member of the:
✓ Nomination committee of the EIT KIC Raw Materials,
✓ Steering Committee of European Technology Platform for Advanced Engineering Materials and Technologies, EuMat.
✓ Joint Innovation Centre for Advanced Material Sino-Portuguese.
✓ administration board of the nature journal: npj 2D Materials and Applications.
✓ administration board of the Portuguese battery association cluster, BATPOWER, involving more than 40 partners, coming from academy and industry sectors (2021).
✓ Founder of the collaborative laboratory AlmaScience (2019)
✓ Founder of the Portuguese cluster association in Advanced Functional Materials, involving 12 municipalities, 20 enterprises and 7 RTO/Universities.
Fields of expertise:
He is expert in the fields of: advanced functional materials for electronics and energy applications; nanotechnologies, microelectronics, transparent electronics (pioneer) and paper electronics (inventor), with more than 750 papers published in WoK, holding an h factor of 77, with more than 27000 citations. He is author in 5 books and 31 book chapters and editor in 8 books. Here, we would highlight the last book (2020): R. Martins, H. Águas, E. Fortunato, Energia Fotovoltaica: Materiais e Aplicações, Volumes I and II, Nova FCT Editorial, 2020 (8845 pages).
Scientific production, patents awards and honors conceived
Rodrigo Martins was decorated with the gold medal of merit and distinction by the Almada Municipality for his R&D achievements, in 2016. He got more than 18 international and national prizes and distinctions for his work. ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1997-7669: Webpage: https://cemop.uninova.pt/
Wearable bioelectronics using paper-derived laser induced graphene
Rodrigo Martins, T. Pinheiro, Henrique Almeida, E. Fortunato
Abstract:
Laser-induced graphene (LIG) has established itself as a very attractive material for electrode fabrication, within several applications in bioelectronics. The straightforward, high throughput graphitization of several precursor materials using this laser conversion process allows for the simultaneous synthesis and patterning of this 3D graphitic material with diverse electrode architectures, to target several biosensing applications, from biophysical to biochemical monitoring. Recently, paper has appeared has a viable alternative to conventional petroleum-based plastic polymer precursors, such as polyimide. This is due to the possibility to photothermally convert aliphatic cellulose monomers into graphene lattices, using several cellulose substrate treatment strategies. Application of fire-retardant chemical modifications and external aromatic moieties improves the graphitization potential of cellulose, to reach LIG film with 5 ohm.sq-1 sheet resistance and conductivities as high as 67 S.cm-1.
With these improved conductive properties of paper derived LIG, this precursor material can be easily employed for the fabrication of disposable biosensing units, where paper acts as both the support substrate and precursor material for conductive electrodes fabrication, without the need for more intricate printing techniques. Alternatively, strategies can be employed to separate converted and unconverted phases, through transfer methods, to make this material compatible with wearable applications.
In this presentation, we report the use of cellulose as a material in the toolbox of LIG precursors, aimed at the development of both disposable and wearable biosensing applications. Paper-based electrochemical sensors using this material are presented, aiming at disposable sensor development for different analytes. Glucose and pH electrochemical sensors were fabricated, showing the compatibility of the material with several sensing strategies, such as enzymatic and non-enzymatic sensing. To translate patterned electrodes for wearable applications, a straightforward transfer method is presented, using a water-induced peel-off method. This method is capable of efficiently separating unconverted cellulose and converted LIG phases, allowing for the transfer of LIG patterns onto flexible, conformable and elastomeric substrates with adhesive properties, for example medical grade adhesives. Using this method, electrochemical biosensors, strain sensors for biophysical monitoring and electrodes for electrophysiological signal monitoring are presented.
In conclusion, the concepts explored herein show the applicability of LIG towards the fabrication of robust point-of-care, disposable analytical devices, but also its potential for integration in wearable sensing systems, aiming at more sustainable, accessible bioelectronic applications.
